YOU ARE OUT OF FUCKING EXCUSES. HULK COMMAND YOU TO WATCH COMMUNITY… RIGHT NOW.

September 27, 2011

OKAY. LET’S STOP PUSSYFOOTING AROUND WITH THIS BECAUSE HULK IS NOT PLAYING NICE ANYMORE.

IN FACT, HULK IS FUCKING TIRED OF YOUR SHIT.

IF YOU ARE NOT WATCHING COMMUNITY, YOU HAVE TO START WATCHING COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW. THAT’S RIGHT, HULK MAKING YOU.

WHY THE SUDDEN URGENCY WHEN HULK HAS JUST PLAIN OLD “RECOMMENDED IT” BEFORE?

LAST WEEK, THE SHOW PREMIERED TO A MASSIVE RATINGS DROP.

… THIS IS A PROBLEM. THE SHOW CANNOT GO OFF THE AIR. HULK WILL GO INTO AN ABED-LIKE SHUTDOWN IF THIS SHOW GOES OFF THE AIR.

THIS A BIG PROBLEM FOR HULK AND GUESS WHAT? HULK’S PROBLEM IS YOUR PROBLEM [CRACKS KNUCKLES]

SO IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED THE SHOW, EITHER JUST JUMP INTO IT THIS WEEK (SOMETHING HULK WOULD USUALLY NEVER RECOMMEND BUT THESE ARE DESPERATE TIMES), OR IF YOU ARE LIKE HULK AND LIKE WATCHING THINGS FROM BEGINNING, GO OUT BUY THE DVD OF SEASON 1.

TODAY.

DO IT. CANCEL YOUR PLANS. ON THE WAY HOME AFTER WORK JUST BUY THE DVD. THIS SHIT IS NOT THAT EXPENSIVE AND REALLY, CAN YOU PUT A PRICE ON JOY? THEN WHEN YOU GET HOME GO AHEAD MAKE YOURSELF A NICE SANDWICH (YOU KNOW, THE ONE YOU LIKE) AND JUST START WATCHING. 8 EPISODES IN YOU WILL BE HOOKED (THE PILOT WORKS BETTER WHEN YOU SEE HOW THE SHOW ACTUALLY DEVELOP). HULK PROMISE.

IF HULK WRONG HULK AND YOU DO NOT LIKE THE FIRST SEASON, HULK WILL DONATE THE AMOUNT OF MONEY YOU SPENT ON DVDS TO CHARITY. SERIOUSLY.

IN FACT, HULK SO SERIOUS THAT AT THE END OF THIS COLUMN THERE WILL BE TRIVIA AND IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED THE SHOW HULK WILL FUCKING BUY YOU SEASON 1 OF THE SHOW. HEAR THAT? THIS IS THAT SERIOUS. YOU ARE OFFICIALLY OUT OF FUCKING EXCUSES.

OH, WHAT’S THAT? YOU DON’T CARE WHAT HULK THINKS? YOU STILL AREN’T GOING TO DO IT? TOO LAZY?

FINE. HERE ARE 13 BLATANTLY OBVIOUS REASONS TO WATCH COMMUNITY:

1) IT IS CURRENTLY THE SMARTEST/FUNNIEST COMEDY ON TV

DO YOU LIKE SMART AND FUNNY THINGS? YOU SAY YOU DO. BUT APPARENTLY YOU FUCKING DON’T. WELL THE MAD GENIUS DAN HARMON HAS CRAFTED A BIZARRELY WONDERFUL SHOW FULL OF SCOPE, GENRE JUMPING HILARITY, SIMPLE HUMANITY, HIGH BROW/LOW BROW, AND CHOCK FULL OF ETHOS AND PATHOS.

2) ANNIE’S BOOBS AND ANNIE’S BOOBS

ONE IS A MONKEY AND THE OTHER IS BOOBS. THAT’S RIGHT, HULK WILLING TO GO SEXIST FOR COMMUNITY’S FUTURE AND THE SAKE OF YOUR VERY OWN EYEBALLS. THE POINT IS BOTH THE MONKEY AND THE BOOBS ARE GREAT.

3) FOR REALS ANNIE AND THE SHOW’S RESPECT OF FEMALE CHARACTERS

THE BETTER REASON TO WATCH COMMUNITY IS BECAUSE ALISON BRIE IS ACTUALLY HILARIOUS AS THE TIGHTLY-WOUND, OVERLY-STUDIOUS YOUNG ANNIE. DESPITE HULK’S ANNIE’S BOOBS COMMENT ABOVE, THE SHOW IS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE BEST IN TERMS OF IT’S TREATMENT/CREATION OF DYNAMIC FEMALE CHARACTERS. THIS IS NOT TO IMPLY THE SHOW IS A WEEKLY ESPOUSING OF GENDER IDEALS (IT IS A COMEDY AFTER ALL), JUST THAT IT TREATS ALL THE WOMEN ON THE SHOW AS DEEPLY TEXTURED, HUMAN, FLAWED, AND DISTINCTLY FUNNY PEOPLE. WHICH THIS DAY IN AGE IS, SADLY, REMARKABLE. AND ANYTIME IT DELVES INTO PLAYING UP SEXUAL ELEMENTS IS ALMOST ALWAYS IN THE NAME OF COMMENTARY.

THE POINT IS THE 3 WOMEN ON THE SHOW ARE HULK’S 3 FAVORITE CHARACTERS ON THE SHOW. CASE IN POINT…

4) BRITTA PERRY IS BEST CHARACTER ON TV

BRITTA BEST EXEMPLIFIES EVERYTHING THAT HULK WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT. SHE IS A PERFECT MIXED BAG OF GREAT INTENTIONS, AWKWARDNESS, BLINDING PALENESS, WHITE GUILT, FALSE CONFIDENCE, GORGEOUSNESS, ALL COMBINING INTO UNINTENTIONAL HILARITY. GILLIAN JACOBS IS SNEAKILY THROWING 99MPH RIGHT NOW. WATCH:

EH WHAT THE HELL. ONE MORE. THIS ONE GIVES A SENSE OF HER INTERPLAY WITH THE GROUP:

5) EVERY WEEK COULD BE THE BEST GENRE MOVIE YOU’LL SEE ALL YEAR

DO NOT MISTAKE WHAT COMMUNITY DOES AS MERE “REFERENCES” (THOUGH THERE ARE A SHIT TON OF THOSE TOO). THE SHOW DELVES INTO DIFFERENT GENRES FOR ENTIRE EPISODES, TRANSCENDING WHAT MAKES THOSE GENRES UNIQUE AND USING THEM TO COMMENT ON THEIR OWN CHARACTERS/STORIES/IDEALS. NO TV SHOW HAS EVER EVEN COME CLOSE TO DOING THIS AS WELL. ALREADY, THEY HAVE SUCCESSFULLY INTEGRATED THE FOLLOWING GENRES: MOB MOVIES, ACTION FILMS (“MODERN WARFARE” CANDIDATE FOR ONE OF THE BEST EPISODES OF TV EVER), CONSPIRACIES, WESTERNS, ZOMBIE MOVIES, CHRISTMAS CLAY-MATION SPECIALS, DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS (TOLD WITH LOTR STYLIZATION EVEN THOUGH IT’S JUST ALL OF THEM SITTING AROUND A TABLE TALKING. IT’S PERFECT), BOTTLE EPISODES, A TV CLIP SHOW MADE OUT OF ENTIRELY NEW MATERIAL, A PULP FICTION/MY DINNER WITH ANDRE MASH-UP, APOLLO 13, 2001, AND COUNTLESS, COUNTLESS OTHERS.

5) ABED

DANNY PUDI PLAYS ABED, THE SHOW’S BREAKOUT CHARACTER. HE SPENDS MUCH OF THE FIRST SEASON AS CONDUIT FOR META COMMENTARY AND DEADPAN SEMI-ASPERGIAN WIT, BUT THE SHOW SLOWLY, SOMEHOW MANAGES TO TURN THAT SEEMINGLY LIMITED PERSONALITY INTO OF THE MOST LOVABLE PEOPLE ON TELEVISION. WON’T LINK TO ANYTHING BECAUSE IT’S NOT WORTH RUINING IT.

6) DONALD GLOVER

DONALD GLOVER IS SO FREAKING TALENTED IT IS KIND OF NOT FAIR. SERIOUSLY, NOT ONLY WAS HE ON THE FOREFRONT OF INTERNET SKETCH COMEDY WITH DERRICK COMEDY, HE THEN WROTE FOR 30 ROCK’S FIRST 3 (AND BEST) SEASONS. THEN HE GOT A LEAD IN THIS AMAZING SITCOM (A ROLE TRANSFORMS BRILLIANTLY OVER THE COURSE OF THE SHOW). AND NOW GUESS WHAT? HE IS SIMULTANEOUSLY TOURING UNDER HIS HIP HOP ALTER EGO CHILDISH GAMBINO… AND DOUBLE GUESS WHAT? HE’S FREAKING REALLY, REALLY GOOD... IT’S KIND OF RIDICULOUS.

7) IT IS BETTER THAN THE BIG BANG THEORY

YOU LIKE NERDY THINGS? HULK LIKE NERDY THINGS TOO. WHO DOESN’T THESE DAYS? THE PROBLEM IS THAT EVERY WEEK THE BIG BANG THEORY MANAGES TO DESTROY COMMUNITY IN THE RATINGS. THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM BECAUSE, WHILE THE BIG BANG THEORY IS WELL MEANING, HAS SOME LIKEABLE ACTORS ,AND DOES TECHNICALLY REFERENCE “STUFF” THAT HULK LIKES, THE SHOW IS 1) NOT THAT FUNNY 2) SAFE 3) CLOYING AND 4) A PRETTY BULLSHIT TREATMENT OF NERDS/NERD CULTURE. SERIOUSLY, IT’S PATRONIZING BULLSHIT. MEANWHILE, COMMUNITY MANAGES TO EXPLORE MANY OF THE SAME THINGS IN A FAR MORE PROFOUND WAY AND TREAT PEOPLE LIKE ACTUAL HUMAN BEINGS EXISTING IN A WORLD WITH OTHER HUMAN BEINGS (EVEN WHEN SHIT GETS CRAZY). THE BIG BANG THEORY IS A DINOSAUR STRAIGHT FROM THE MIND OF 80’S NERDISM.

EVIDENCE:

8 ) CHEVY CHASE PLAYS AN OLD RACIST MAN

REPEAT: CHEVY CHASE PLAYS AN OLD RACIST MAN.

NO OTHER INFORMATION NECESSARY.

9) YVETTE NICOLE BROWN PLAYS SHIRLEY, THE MOST UNDERREPRESENTED CHARACTER ON TV

YVETTE PLAYS A YOUNG, BLACK, CHRISTIAN MOTHER INTEGRATED INTO A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO ARE TECHNICALLY NOTHING LIKE HER, TECHNICALLY CAN’T UNDERSTAND HER, AND YET THE SHOW COMPLETELY UNDERSTANDS HOW TO TREAT THAT DYNAMIC HONESTLY. YOU SEE, COMMUNITY DOES NOT USE SHIRLEY TO CRAM IN ANY HAM-FISTED IDEAS ABOUT RACE OR RELIGION. SHE IS NOT A MOUTHPIECE FOR ANYTHING, NOR MEANT TO REPRESENT ANYTHING. NOR DOES IT HAPLESSLY APE HER IDENTITY FOR COMEDY PURPOSES (AND ANY TIME IT DOES SO ARE GENIAL/LIGHT, OR PIERCE RELATED). NO, WHAT THE SHOW WANTS MOST OF ALL WITH SHIRLEY IS TO UNDERSTAND HER AND RELATE IN AS NON-CLOYING WAY AS POSSIBLE. HULK CONSIDERS THIS A TINY REVOLUTION IN TERMS OF TELEVISION’S USUAL STANCE. DAN HARMON REGULARLY ADMITS HE WOULD NOT KNOW HOW TO WRITE/REPRESENT SHIRLEY, AND SO HE MAKES THE SHOW ABOUT BOTH HOW THE CHARACTERS LEARN HOW TO RELATE TO HER, HOW TO RESPECT HER,AND MORE IMPORTANTLY HOW SHE MAKES DUE WITH THIS KIND OF EXISTENCE. SHE IS, OF COURSE, JUST A PERSON LIKE EVERYONE ELSE ON THE SHOW. YVETTE CLEARLY BRINGS SO DAMN MUCH TO THE ROLE, BUT THERE IS A KIND OF CULTURAL HONESTY AT PLAY WITH HER/SHIRLEY THAT IS FAR TOO RARE IN MEDIA THESE DAYS. OH AND IDENTITY POLITICS ASIDE, YVETTE IS A HILARIOUS WITH AMAZING RANGE AND CONTROL. WATCH:

AND WHEN THE SHOW DOES TACKLE RACE? IT OFTEN LOOKS MORE LIKE THIS:

10) KEN JEONG

AFTER HIS BRILLIANT TYRANNY IN SEASON 1, THEY HAVEN’T REALLY FIGURED OUT WHAT TO WITH HIM BUT THAT’S FINE. HE’S PLAYING A SPECIAL KIND OF BATSHIT THAT TRANSLATES BEAUTIFULLY AS PERHAPS THE BEST “JUST OFF FRAME” / “CUT TO” CHARACTER IN TV TODAY. EVIDENCE:

11) JIM RASH

IT IS A TESTAMENT TO JIM RASH’S ABILITY THAT HE IS NOW A PART OF THE MAIN CAST. HE PLAYS THE DEAN OF GREENDALE… JOHN GOODMAN CALLED HIM PANSEXUAL IN THE MOST RECENT EPISODE… THAT’S PROBABLY THE BEST DESCRIPTION. HE GETS BETTER AND BETTER WITH EVERY EPISODE. HULK’S FAVORITE MOMENT IS WHEN HE STEALS THE JEFF WINGER “COOL CAT” POSTER.

12) JOEL MCFUCKINGCHALE

COMMUNITY IS A TRUE ENSEMBLE, BUT THE GROUPS “LEADER” IS A DISGRACED LAWYER TRYING TO EARN A NOT-FAKE DEGREE. AND HE’S PLAYED BY ONE OF THE FUNNIEST PEOPLE ON THE PLANET: JOEL MCHALE. THERE IS PERHAPS NO ONE BETTER AT VOCAL INFLECTION, POINTED BARBS, AND DEFTLY WOVEN COMIC NARRATIVE THEN MCHALE. FYI, COMIC NARRATIVE IS WHEN YOU CAN EXTEND A SINGLE NUGGET OF AN IDEA/JOKE INTO A LARGER “NARRATIVE” OF A SINGLE SCENE/LINE/EXCHANGE . YES, IT’S IN THE WRITING BUT IT REALLY TAKES CERTAIN KIND OF PERFORMERS TO PULL IT OFF. LIKE THIS:

STILL, THE SHOW IS NEVER AFRAID TO PUT JEFF IN THE BACKGROUND WHEN NEEDED (ONE OF IT’S STRENGTHS) BUT IT WHEN IT PUTS HIS BEST SKILLS ON THE FOREFRONT? PERFECT COMBINATION OF CHARACTER/ACTOR. HERE IS THE FIRST OF HIS NOW-FAMOUS COMMUNITY “SPEECHES” FROM THE PILOT.

13) BECAUSE IF YOU DON’T WATCH IT WE HAVE FAILED AS A CULTURE

AS LITTLE AS TWELVE YEARS AGO, THE FUNNIEST AND BEST SHOWS WERE ALSO THE MOST WATCHED. SERIOUSLY. THE SIMPSONS? SEINFELD? BOTH DOMINATED. NOW THERE ARE CERTAIN REASONS THAT ALL RATINGS NUMBERS ARE DIPPING (MORE FRACTURED AUDIENCES, DVRS, PEOPLE WATCHING IN OTHER WAYS) BUT THAT DOES NOT NEARLY ACCOUNT FOR THE NUMBERS COMMUNITY IS EXHIBITING. FOR ALL PEOPLE’S B.S. TALK OF THE SHOW BEING TOO “META” OR INSULAR OR WEIRD, THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING DIFFERENT GOING ON FROM THE SIMPSONS OR SEINFELD. NONE. HELL, IT’S NOT EVEN COMING CLOSE TO THE MILE A MINUTE PACE AND CONSTANT REFERENCES OF THE SIMPSONS. THE ARGUMENT THAT IT IS SOMEHOW A CASE OF AVERSIONARY CONTENT HOLDING THE SHOW BACK, MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO DAMN SENSE.

SO WHAT THIS IS COMES DOWN TO IS THIS: YOU ARE NOT WATCHING IT BECAUSE YOU DO NOT REALIZE HOW MUCH YOU WILL END UP LOVING IT. SIMPLE AS THAT.

REALLY IT IS.

WHY? BECAUSE THAT’S HOW IT WAS FOR HULK.

THE FIRST SEASON ENDED AND HULK HADN’T WATCHED IT. OH HULK WAS STILL BUSY “SORT OF” WATCHING THE OFFICE AND DIDN’T “HAVE TIME” FOR COMMUNITY. ESPECIALLY SINCE HULK HAD WATCHED THE PILOT, WHICH WAS SOLID BUT NOT ENOUGH TO KEEP HULK COMING BACK (IN RETROSPECT, IT WAS BRILLIANT SET UP). IT BASICALLY TOOK A FRIEND’S INSTANCE THAT THE SHOW ABSOLUTELY HAD TO BE WATCHED. THEY DEMANDED. SO HULK GAVE IN AND NETFLIXED THE FIRST SEASON.

… HULK FINISHED IT IN 52 HOURS.

THEN HULK WATCHED THE SECOND SEASON AS IT AIRED AND WAS DELIGHTED BY THE FACT IT WORKS BEAUTIFULLY AS A WEEK-TO-WEEK SHOW TOO.

IT IS SIMPLY THE BEST COMEDY ON TV.

BUT SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED… WE’VE STOPPED WATCHING THE BEST COMEDIES ON TV… AND WE NEED TO CORRECT IT…. DESPERATELY.

YOU ARE OUT OF EXCUSES UNIVERSE.

SO FUCKING STOP IT.

WATCH THE SHOW OR HULK WILL SMASH YOUR ASS.

<3 HULK

P.S.! – BONUS TRIVIA FOR A FREE DVD OF COMMUNITY SEASON 1: WHILE THE TONE OF THE SHOW IS A BIT MADCAP, DAN HARMON FREQUENTLY CITES CHEERS AS A MAIN INFLUENCE ON THE SHOW. IN THAT SPIRIT THE FIRST PERSON TO ANSWER THESE FOUR QUESTIONS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW AND HAS NOT SEEN COMMUNITY BUT WANTS TO WILL BE SENT A FREE SEASON 1 COMMUNITY DVD BY HULK.

SO HERE GOES (IN ASCENDING DIFFICULTY): 1) WHAT WAS NORM’S WIFE NAME?

2) WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE RESTAURANT ABOVE THE BAR?

3) WHO PLAYED THE CONMAN “HARRY THE HAT” AND WHAT OTHER POPULAR SITCOM DID HE GO ON TO STAR IN?

4) NAME THE TWO ITEMS THAT CLIFF CLAVIN KARATE CHOPS IN A DEMONSTRATION OF HIS MARTIAL ARTS ABILITIES? AND WHO CARRIES HIM UP THE STAIRS AFTERWARDS?

Great post, Hulk. The fact that the premiere got a 1.7 made me want to light the world on fire.

Also, not to get all Comic Book Guy, but in that BBT clip, Sheldon says he has the memory card for Mario Kart 64 – that doesn’t exist. The only reason that’s relevant is because that show passes itself off as geek gospel, when in reality it’s nerd blackface.

YEAH, HULK DOESN’T THINK MARIO KART WAS ONE OF THE GAMES THAT REQUIRED A MEMORY CARD (SOME DID) BUT IT’S EXACTLY THAT KIND OF ATTENTION TO DETAIL THAT MATTERS. DRESS IT UP ALL WE WANT, BUT MAYBE IT JUST COMES DOWN TO CHUCK LORRE VS. DAN HARMON. WHICH ONE SPEAKS TO YOU IN TERMS OF NERD?

The Geek Brothers have a DIFFERENT reason why they feel COMMUNITY is slipping in the ratings. Your point #8.

When Community premiered Donald Glover and Joel MCFUCKINGhale were reason enough to get the Geek Brothers to tune in. And then most of the reasons you described above kept us coming back all season long.

Season 2 started great, but as the season slugged on, Point #8 became more and more a forefront of every episode. And as great as the dynamic of the cast was, it became increasingly unclear for the Geek Brothers to understand just why the hell this group would continue to put up with him. In a show that featured a wonderful send up of several genres, and broke the “rules” all the time, I stopped being able to buy that they wouldn’t just kick him to the curb. Yes, I will cite a lack of versimilitude for why COMMUNITY lost me.

Waaaaay back in the day, someone suggested the Geek Brothers check out EVERYBODY LOVES RAMON. (Told you it was back in the day.) Based on what we had seen in the advertising, and heard about the show, we declined, with one of the Geek Brothers saying what I often quote when I asked why I won’t watch something featuring people being, for lack of a better word, shitty to eachother. “If I wanted to watch a family pick at each other and be cruel, I’d go to more family reunions.”

In that vein, ‘If I wanted to watch a show that featured a mean spirited racist character, well, I’d just go hang out at an old folks home. AT lest then I’d be doing community service.’

(Geek Brothers apologizes for that last pun. We had already begun typing when we realized and decided to leave it as. Feel free to discount all our thoughtful commentary as a result.)

IT SORT OF A BIGGER CONVO BUT HULK’LL BOIL DOWN TO THIS: HULK LIKE THE PRESENCE OF A CHARACTER WITH REAL MEANNESS BECAUSE 1) IT IS ROUTINELY ADDRESSED BY SAID GROUP W/ ONLY ONE REAL CHARACTER ON PIERCE’S SIDE 2) IT IS ROUNDED OUT NICELY WITH THE BEHAVIOR OF THE REST OF GROUP 3) AND PERHAPS MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT GIVES HIM A PLACE TO GO OVER THE COURSE OF THIS/FUTURE SEASONS. IT MORE INVOLVED THAN THAT, BUT THAT THE GIST.

I think, for me, it might work if Pierce was a villain. But he’s not, he’s ostensibly one of our protagonists. Therein lies the problem. You can lay complexity like onion layers all over characters, but we will root for heroes and root against villains. And this is something that we respond to on a subconscious level. Much of the time we as an audience react viscerally, and it isn’t until we step back to reflect that we truly understand why we reacted the way we did.

Goodness in a character is something that resonates with us as a society. Take a beloved character like Han Solo. (Yeah, I’m laying Solo on you now.) What a lot of fanboys SAY they like about Solo is his selfish Devil may care attitude. But truthfully, if Solo HAD really cut out on the rebellion at the end of Star Wars, or in the middle of Empire, or any other time, he would’ve been a total douche and NOT the beloved character he is. He complains about his problems and says he’s going to leave to settle his scores, but only after he helps Luke, then goes out into a storm to save Luke, then sees the princess to safety…. it’s a pattern. Solo is a hero because of his honor and nobility, NOT because of his snarky comebacks and selfishness. The same could be said of Jack Sparrow (it’s why Pirates 1 is beloved, but 2 & 3 are reviled, and they returned to his heroic nature for 4), or any other “anti-hero” for that matter. We MUST like our protagonist, hero or anti-hero, and dislike our antagonist. THAT is at the heart of storytelling.

Therefore, I must respectfully disagree with your response Ryan. Pierce’s cruelty towards other characters would work if he were the groups’ nemesis, but as a part of the group actively working against it, he comes off as jarring, and I DO think he brings you out of the narrative. And I’d argue that’s exactly the kind of things that DOES resonate with an audience. Even if they don’t realize it.

you don’t like to watch awful people? What’s wrong with you? They are often the funniest. Everone on arressted development (with the possible eception of buster an george michael) was an awful person. Same with seinfeld… These are basically the two funniest shows that have ever been created. Awful people are hilarious… Although I guess not always because you stopped watching community, which makes you awful, and yet i’m not amused by you. At all.

Nicely said, Hulk. I agree with Jonah, Chevy Chase’s character has become more of a detracting factor for me lately, except for the roleplaying and paintball 2 episodes.

Also, a theory on Community concerning Jeff Winger’s dad: Anybody else think this show works perfectly if it’s set in the same fictional world as the movie Stripes? John Winger (an orphan) fathering Jeff Winger? Joel McFuckinghale kind of reminds me of a young Bill Murray type, and is certainly playing that kind of character.

Because TV is different, it has to tread differently. In this case TV has to keep me not just IN my seat for the duration of that episode, but keep me returning to that seat in the future. Pierce’s character got me–and as I’ve discovered after talking with friends–several people to NOT come back to those seats. I liken it to the turn Michael Scott took in final seasons of the office or Alan in the Hangover 2 vs part 1. When the characters became selfish, manipulative buffoons, they weren’t as funny. Then, critics, ratings (or box office dollars), and audience response reflected that.

I’d like to add one more thing about TRUE serialized fiction. I get that it’s hard. REALLY. REALLY hard. I consider myself at least passingly familiar with two of the more recognizable representations: TV and Comic Books. Both mediums have changed since their inception. (Some would say mature, but I prefer changed.) Both mediums have begun more to focus on overall arc and less and less on individual tales.

In some ways this is great. It allows for more depth of both story and character. It allows for a more epic scope as well. Unfortunately, this change also makes single pieces of these ongoing arcs — episodes or issues — less and less able to stand on their own. In cases like COMMUNITY (because I READILY believe that the writers WERE/ARE going somewhere with Pierce), this unfortunately has a negative effect I feel.

It’s the double edged sword of Comics and TV “growing up”. They are BOTH forgetting why they were developed in the first place, which is to fill a half hour to and hour of our precious free time. The entire season or Trade Paperback MAY very well be rewarding, but if the single issues and episodes don’t ALSO keep you engaged, the show/series is doomed for cancellation.

great and aggressively dedicated post, I don’t understand why more people don’t watch Community it blows my mind every week and I can honestly say it is my favorite comedy, I really care about the characters’ journey which is something not a lot of comedies succeed in getting the audience to do.

Another great blog. I feel the same way about this show. I remember begging people to watch Battlestar Galactica, or Dead Like Me, or the Gervais animated podcast on HBO…it’s hard to get people into what you love, so you give up, imaging what’s the harm in simply enjoying it yourself. Well, the harm for the most part, is cancellation, which is common with other shows I’ve invested hours of my time but was never given the catharsis of a resolution…shows like Carnivale, the 4400, and the aforementioned Dead Like Me.

Troy and Abed as a duo should be the sole reason for watching it. They’re the most amazing thing in the world.

And as a feminist, I don’t think it’s sexist to mention Annie’s boobs (not the monkey) as a reason. I asked my gay sister (also a feminist) what the obsession was with them, and she just said “they’re pretty great boobs”. And it’s really good that the show’s not sexist about the way it portrays women and their boobs either.

I live in Australia, so I feel sad that I don’t know many people who I can convince to watch it, I love this show, and like others before that have been cancelled (anything by Joss Whedon pretty much) there’s not much I can personally do to help.

HULK THANK YOU FOR THE COMMENT! AND HULK GLAD YOU MENTIONED TH EANNIE’S BOOBS THING, BECAUSE IT GAVE HULK A WAY OF CATEGORIZING IT: THE PORTRAYAL OF ANNIE AND HOW IT’S DELT WITH MAKES THEM OBJECTIVELY GOOD BOOBS… IF THAT MAKES SENSE? PERHAPS HULK IS OVER-ANALYZING.

I agree with #7. The difference between The Big Bang Theory, which feels like a show made by researching nerd culture, and Community, which feels like a show made by actual nerds, is that the ‘nerd humor’ in Community is deeper than the surface. It’s easy to make fun of how stale the Star Wars franchise has become, but to recreate it as a paintball war? Not so easy.

Plus, c’mon; While TBBT had Leonard hooking up with Raj’s sister, Community had the study group fighting a zombie invasion. You tell me which one’s nerdier.

Writers of TBBT ask “What do nerds like? Let’s do that!” while writers of Community ask “What do we like? Let’s do that!”. TBBT is a show made for nerds. Community is a show made BY nerds.

I appreciate this post on so many levels. I am also trying to do everything I can to keep this show from getting cancelled. Obviously, I’d love for it to go on forever, but if we can at least get it to a fourth season and have it end after they graduate, that will be a welcome outcome. I’ve already gotten 5 of my closest friends at college into the show in the past month alone and I plan on buying season 1 on dvd for as many people as I can for Christmas (I already have both, of course). Hopefully our passion will be enough to keep Community alive. GOD BLESS YOU HULK.

[…] what you expected and then, like a giant green rage monster after my own heart, a piece entitled, “YOU ARE OUT OF FUCKING EXCUSES. HULK COMMAND YOU TO WATCH COMMUNITY…RIGHT NOW.” I do admit that some of my appreciation for Hulk’s writing has to do with the similar taste […]

The last two episodes had a bad case of tell-don’t-show. We’ve been told that Abed and Troy are weird, not shown that they are. We’ve been told that Jeff is a narcissistic egomaniac, not shown that he is. We’ve been told that he’s prettier, when in fact he looks the same.

This reeks of the opening scene of Attack of the Clones in which we’re told about all the adventures Anakin and Obiwan had… it’s bad.

Whaddaya think?

Also, started watching Dr Who on your suggestion. The jury’s still out.